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Screech Owls #27
Reality Check in Detroit
The Screech Owls are invited to compete in a four-day skills competition in Detroit. Along with another team, they will be participating in a reality show called Goals & Dreams. They're staying at a fancy hotel, being showered with hockey swag, given Hollywood nicknames, and posing for the film crew -- Hockeytown doesn't look bad at all! That's until they meet the other team and start noticing how differently they're being treated. Are the producers engineering certain tensions and situations to pump up the show? The Screech Owls don't like to be manipulated . . .
210 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 10, 2015
About the author
Roy MacGregor
127 books94 followersRoy MacGregor is a Canadian author of fiction and non-fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 2, 2020
Book Riot Read Harder challenge 2020 task # 9: Read the LAST book in a series.
Definitely not the Screech Owls series that I read as a kid; this book is a more up to date version with a new cover design and the Screech Owls themselves are more into smartphones, social media and Sidney Crosby. (Nish didn't even mention Paul Kariya once!) The book is set in Detroit, where the Screech Owls will face off against the Detroit Motors in a four day skills competition. The setting allows the author to explore the hardships that the city faces and to highlight the resiliency of the people living there. The author also tries to warn younger audiences about reality tv by showing them that things are not always what they seem. Above all, the best part of this book is the hockey itself. I love how MacGregor emphasizes teamwork along with playing fair, hard and honestly. I'm definitely not the target audience for this book, but it's still a great series for young hockey fans and players alike.
Definitely not the Screech Owls series that I read as a kid; this book is a more up to date version with a new cover design and the Screech Owls themselves are more into smartphones, social media and Sidney Crosby. (Nish didn't even mention Paul Kariya once!) The book is set in Detroit, where the Screech Owls will face off against the Detroit Motors in a four day skills competition. The setting allows the author to explore the hardships that the city faces and to highlight the resiliency of the people living there. The author also tries to warn younger audiences about reality tv by showing them that things are not always what they seem. Above all, the best part of this book is the hockey itself. I love how MacGregor emphasizes teamwork along with playing fair, hard and honestly. I'm definitely not the target audience for this book, but it's still a great series for young hockey fans and players alike.
January 23, 2022
I liked this one more than I expected to. Glad to finally see the Owls hit Detroit, and while I was initially skeptical of the reality show plot line, it grew on me. Not much hockey in this one, but I didn’t mind so much—after 26 previous books, I can describe exactly how Dmitri knocks the water bottle out of the net with his backhand.
MacGregor really emphasized how bad things were in Detroit after the auto industry collapsed, which was accurate, but it was still funny to read a lecture from Muck about home lucky the kids are to be from somewhere other than Detroit. (This was further emphasized by MacGregor’s making sure to specify that all the cool attractions the Owls went to were in the surrounding suburbs—though I cannot believe that they were already in Dearborn and Muck didn’t drag all Owls to Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum.)
This is a good one. I hope it isn’t the last, but with seven years between its publication and now, can’t really hold my breath.
MacGregor really emphasized how bad things were in Detroit after the auto industry collapsed, which was accurate, but it was still funny to read a lecture from Muck about home lucky the kids are to be from somewhere other than Detroit. (This was further emphasized by MacGregor’s making sure to specify that all the cool attractions the Owls went to were in the surrounding suburbs—though I cannot believe that they were already in Dearborn and Muck didn’t drag all Owls to Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum.)
This is a good one. I hope it isn’t the last, but with seven years between its publication and now, can’t really hold my breath.
April 3, 2015
REALITY CHECK IN DETROIT by Roy MacGregor is the latest in the Screech Owl hockey mystery-adventure series for middle grades.
The Screech Owls are a local hockey team in a small Canadian community. In their latest adventure, the team has been invited to star in a reality TV show in Detroit. After the initial excitement wears off, they realize that stardom may not be worth the sacrifices to their team and their friendships. Where do the lies end and the authentic reality begin?
For the past 20 years, MacGregor has written engaging adventures for young hockey fans. The mystery stories are told through the eyes of the team captain, Travis Lindsay. The 26 books are available individually or in collected volumes of 4 books. Readers seeking sports fiction focusing on team building and friendships will enjoy this series.
Librarians will find that the fast-paced, easy-to-follow stories are great for reluctant readers. The storylines have a nice balance of live hockey sequences with team drama and light-hearted banter. Librarians don’t need to worry about having all the books in hand. Although the team members carry over from book to book, each book stands on its own. The plots revolve around real places and events or universal themes.
To learn more about the series, go to http://www.screechowls.com/.
Published by Tundra, February 2015.
The Screech Owls are a local hockey team in a small Canadian community. In their latest adventure, the team has been invited to star in a reality TV show in Detroit. After the initial excitement wears off, they realize that stardom may not be worth the sacrifices to their team and their friendships. Where do the lies end and the authentic reality begin?
For the past 20 years, MacGregor has written engaging adventures for young hockey fans. The mystery stories are told through the eyes of the team captain, Travis Lindsay. The 26 books are available individually or in collected volumes of 4 books. Readers seeking sports fiction focusing on team building and friendships will enjoy this series.
Librarians will find that the fast-paced, easy-to-follow stories are great for reluctant readers. The storylines have a nice balance of live hockey sequences with team drama and light-hearted banter. Librarians don’t need to worry about having all the books in hand. Although the team members carry over from book to book, each book stands on its own. The plots revolve around real places and events or universal themes.
To learn more about the series, go to http://www.screechowls.com/.
Published by Tundra, February 2015.
March 22, 2015
I received this through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program.
This is the second Screech Owls book I have read, and this one reinforces my initial feeling that this is just a darn good book series for any kid who loves hockey or sports. In this one, the team's most obnoxious player, Nish, gets them all onto a new reality TV series that is filming in Detroit. MacGregor does an excellent job of making Detroit a vibrant, if dour, setting by exploring its history and blight in a very honest but not preachy way. As Nish goes into full Hollywood mode, Travis, Sara, and the others realize that something fishy is going on with the other team and the whole concept of the show. They use modern technology (Twitter plays a vital role) and old fashioned detective work to find out the truth: that reality TV is not real in the least.
The kids are very well-rounded individuals and there's solid representation across the team. It's very easy to tell who is who by their distinct voice. MacGregor writes fabulous hockey scenes, too. I mean, there's a blurb from Wayne Gretzky on the cover, so you know he has hockey cred.
I'm happy to pass this along to my nine-year-old hockey-loving son.
This is the second Screech Owls book I have read, and this one reinforces my initial feeling that this is just a darn good book series for any kid who loves hockey or sports. In this one, the team's most obnoxious player, Nish, gets them all onto a new reality TV series that is filming in Detroit. MacGregor does an excellent job of making Detroit a vibrant, if dour, setting by exploring its history and blight in a very honest but not preachy way. As Nish goes into full Hollywood mode, Travis, Sara, and the others realize that something fishy is going on with the other team and the whole concept of the show. They use modern technology (Twitter plays a vital role) and old fashioned detective work to find out the truth: that reality TV is not real in the least.
The kids are very well-rounded individuals and there's solid representation across the team. It's very easy to tell who is who by their distinct voice. MacGregor writes fabulous hockey scenes, too. I mean, there's a blurb from Wayne Gretzky on the cover, so you know he has hockey cred.
I'm happy to pass this along to my nine-year-old hockey-loving son.
April 5, 2015
The Screech Owls are back with a new adventure and lesson. I love how [Roy MacGregor] mixes hockey with a life lesson in his books. In [Reality Check in Detriot] the team is asked to be on a reality show but they quickly learn that reality tv isn't that real.
The characters that [MacGregor] creates all blend well and keep a good balance in the story. Although I personally can't stand Nish and his ego but he is typical of boys that age. Travis is a good balance. I will be passing this book off to my niece to read and recommending that my school library get it at well.
The characters that [MacGregor] creates all blend well and keep a good balance in the story. Although I personally can't stand Nish and his ego but he is typical of boys that age. Travis is a good balance. I will be passing this book off to my niece to read and recommending that my school library get it at well.
May 4, 2015
The Screech Owls hockey team is off to Detroit to participate in a reality TV hockey show. Nish is particularly excited and becomes more obnoxious than ever in his quest to be both a TV and a hockey star. The producers seem to be adding even more drama to the series, so the gang sets out to find out why.
This is an enjoyable series with interesting characters and great hockey story lines and action.
This is an enjoyable series with interesting characters and great hockey story lines and action.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews